Wire-twisting chuck.



G. B. SMITH. WIRE TWISTING CHUCK. APPLICATION FILED nov. a. 1916.

v Patented Nov. 20, 1917.

GARY B. SMITH, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WIRE-TWISTING CHUCK.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GARY B. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful W'ire-Twisting Chuck, of which the followingis a specification.

The present invention is a wire twisting chuck, adapted to be used in awire twisting machine of the character disclosed in my Patent No.1,165,550, granted December 28, 1915.

The object of the invention is the provision of a novel and improvedchuck for use in a wire twisting machine and embodying a chuck membermounted for rotation and having a passage extending therethrough for thepassage of the twisted wire, means being provided for cooperation withthe chuck member to cause the same to grip and release the wire asnecessary, the present chuck being exceedingly simple, compact, andinexpensive in construction, and at the same time being thoroughlypractical and eflicient in use.

\Vith the foregoing and other objects in View which will'appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within thescope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figurel is a longitudinal section of the chuck illustrating the same inreleased position.

Fig. 2 is a cross section taken on the line Fig. 3 is a view similar toFig. 1 of a modified form showing it in wiregripping position.

In carrying out the invention, there is provided a tubular shaft 1 whichis journaled for rotation in any suitable manner for rotating the chuck.

The chuck member 5, which is tubular or hollow, has one end threadedsecurely upon one end of the shaft 1. The member 5 is rovided with alongitudinal restricted bore fextending from the tapered or reduced freeend 6 of the member 5 to the enlarged chamber or bore 8 of said member.The enlarged Application filed November 8, 1916.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patent d Nov. 20, 1917.

Serial No. 130,248.

bore 8 and bore of the shaft 1 allow the tw sted wire to pass readilytherethrough and with little friction, and the reduced bore 7 isarranged for the snug reception of the twisted wire whereby the wire canbe gripped properly. The wire is fed longitudinally through. the bore 7and is adapted to be twisted when the member 5 is gripped thereto, aswill hereinafter more fully appear. The member 5 is provided with anumber, in this case three, of longitudinal radial slots 9 extendingfrom the bore 7 to the periphery of the member 5, and providing.

spring jaws 10 which are normally separated or which spring apart whenreleased. The bore 7 is provided between the jaws 10, whereby when. saidjaws are forced :together they will grip the wire. The slots 9 extendbeyond the inner end of the bore 7 so that the jaws 10 can spring. Themember'5 has an annular peripheral rounded'rib 11 at that end which isfastened to the shaft 1, the purpose of which will hereinafter appear.

As a means for closing the jaws 10 upon the wire, a sleeve 2 is slidableupon the memher 5 and has a threaded end 3 remote from the rib 11screwed within the counter bore 12 ofa head 12. That end ofthe head 12remote from the rib 11 is tapered or contracted, as at 13, to fit thetapered end 6 of the member 5 when the head 12 and sleeve 2 are slidtoward the shaft 1, and the tapered or reduced end 13 has. an aperture14 aliningwith and slightly larger in diameter than the bore 7. The.wire passes loosely through the aperture 1 1.

The sleeve 2 is provided with longitudinal slots 4 extending to that endof the sleeve adjacent to the rib 11 and providing spring tongues 4Lhaving the curved keepers 15 at their free rear ends to snap over therib 11 when thehead 12 and sleeve 2 are slid rearwardly, the tongues 1being resilient so as to spring apart and snap inwardly toward oneanother. When the keepers 15 fit over the rib 11, they hold the sleeve 2and head 12 in rearward position, and when the sleeve 2 and head12 areforcibly moved forward away from the shaft 1, the keepers 15 will leavethe rib 11 and snap in front of the same to holdthe sleeve and head inplace, as seen in Fig. 1. I

In order to enable the head 12 to be slid longitudinally; and. to rotatewith the memher 5, the head 12 is provided at its rear end with anannular peripheral rib 16 in front of which is a longitudinally movablenonrotatable collor 17 disposed between said rib and a nut 18 threadedupon the head 12 and held in place by a jam-nut 19. Two annular sets ofanti-frictional balls 20 are disposed between the ball races of thecollar and the rib 16 and nut 19, to let the head rotate with littlefriction. A fork 21 has its ends p'ivoially engaging outstandingtrunnions 22 carried by diametrically opposite portions of the collar17. The fork 21 is adapted to be connected to suitable means {not shown)for sliding the collar 17 longitudinally, any suitable means beingemployed for this purpose. The head 12 is thus journaled for freerotation within the collar 17, and the collar can be movedlongitudinally for sliding the head and sleeve correspondingly, withoutimpending the rotation of the head and sleeve with the member 5 whennecessary.

A jam-nut 23 is screwed upon the end 3 of the sleeve 2 and bears againstthe rear end of the head 12 for holding said parts in adjusted position.The nut 23 and head 12 have the respective sockets 2 1 and 25 or othersuitable means for the engagement of a wrench or other implement toadjust the parts.

In operation, the wire embodying a number of strands is passed throughthe aperture 14 of the head 12 and through the member 5 and shaft 1, andthe member 5 is rotated continually during the operation of the machine.When the head 12 is moved forwardly to bring the tapered end 13 thereofaway from the tapered end 6 of the member 5, the jaws 10 are allowed toseparate, thereby releasing the wire, so that the twisted portion of thewire can be slid through the tubular member 5 to bring the untwistedportion near the jaws 10. During the time that the head 12 is movedforwardly it is in a passive condition, that is,

.. it can either remain stationary or rotate.

The keepers 15 are snapped in front of the rib 11 in the meantime tohold the head in place. Now, when the untwisted portion of the wire isbrought adjacent the jaws 10, the head 12 is slid backwardly by movingthe collar 17 correspondingly, and the tapered end 13 of the sleeve willengage the tapered end 6 of the member 5, thereby forcing the jaws 10toward one another, causing them to grip the wire tightly therebetween,and consequently that portion of the wire gripped by the jaws 10 will berotated with the member 5 carried by the shaft 1. This results in thetwisting of the wire. When the sleeve 2 is moved rearwardly. the keepers15 are forced back over the rib 11 and snap over said rib for holdingthe head in position so that it cannot move forwardly accidentally aswould be liable to release the jaws 10. The head 12 can rotate freelywithin the collar 17 at any position of the cellar, and the collar canbe readily adjusted longitudinally by any suitable means, it being notedthat the collar is non-rotatable. When the wire is twisted up tight, thejaws are again released to allow the twisted portion of the wire to beagain fed through the tubular member 5 for a new operation, referencebeing had to the aforesaid patent which will clearly suggest the utilityof the chuck herein disclosed.

The head 12 can be adjusted or screwed relative to the sleeve 2 toproperly space the tapered end 13 of the head and keepers 15 of thesleeve.

The modified form illustrated in Fig. 3 is of the same generalconstruction as the form above described, with the exception that therib 11 of the member 5 is eliminated and the tongues 1 of the sleeve 2are provided at their free ends with inturned lips or portions 15 thatoverlap the rear end of the member 5 when the tapered portions are inengagement to hold the jaws in wire gripping position, as seen in Fig.3. "Vhen the head 12 and sleeve 2 are forced forwardly, the lips 15 rideonto and are separated by the member 5, the tongues 1 being sprung apartso that the frictional engagement of the tongues with the member 5 willhold the parts in position with the tapered portions separated, as whenthe keepers 15 above described are in front of the rib 11. However, withthe modified form, when the head 12 and sleeve 2 are slid rearwardly,the lips 15' snap easily behind the member 5, with little force beingnecessary to slide the parts, whereas with the form above de scribed, itis necessary for the keepers 15 to be separated to move over the rib 11.

hen the tongues l snap into position to hold the head and chuck inrelative position, this relieves the strain between the collar 17 andhead 12, and the jaws will be maintained in gripping position by thetongues a and corresponding parts alone.

The head 12 and sleeve 2 can be made to rotate with the chuck member 5,as by applying one or more pins or lugs 26 to the member 5 andprojecting such pins into one or more slots 4.

This chuck can be used for various other purposes, and is not restrictedto the particular use described.

Importance is attached to the adjustment between the sleeve 2 and head12, due to the ad antages flowing therefrom. Thus, by adjusting thesleeve and head relatively, the relative position of the chuck memberand head when held in a gripping position can be re ulated. For example,by adjusting the sleeve and head to separate the tapered portion 13 andkeepers 15, the chuck member when held by the keepers'15 will not beadvanced so far toward the member 1 2 as when the keepers 15 are nearersaid member, and consequently, the jaws will not be forced inwardly sofar, to provide for a looser grip or the-gripping of the twistedwire-cable or other member of larger diameter. By adjusting the sleeveand head toward one another, the chuck member being held by the sleevewill force the chuck member farther into the head 12 whereby to forcethe jaws closer toward one another to more tightly grip the wire or thelike, or to grip a wire or other member of smaller diameter. In thismanner, it is possible to adjust the chuck for wire or articles ofvarious diameters, within certain-limits, and to control the grippingtension.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A chuck embodying a rotatable member having normally separated springjaws, a head upon said member, said head and member having cooperabletapered portions for forcing the jaws toward one another to grippingposition, means operable for slidin the head and member relatively forbringing the tapered portions into and out of engagement, andinterengageable means carried by said head and member for holding themin position against accidental displacement longitudinally.

2. A chuck embodying a rotatable tubular member having normallyseparated spring j aws, a head slidable upon the tubular member, saidhead and tubular member having cooperable tapered portions for forcingthe jaws toward one another to gripping position, the head having anannular peripheral rib, a member engaged upon the head, and alongitudinally movable collar surrounding the head and disposed betweensaid rib and second mentioned member.

3. A chuck embodying a rotatable tubular member having normallyseparated spring jaws, a head slidable upon the tubular member, saidhead and tubular member having tapered portions cooperable for forcingthe jaws toward one another to gripping position, the head having anannular peripheral rib, a nut screwed upon the head, a non-rotatablecollar surounding the head and disposed between said rib and nut,antifrictional means between said collar and the rib and nut, and a forkstraddling the collar and having its ends trunnioned thereto.

4:. A chuck embodying a rotatable member having normally separatedspring jaws, a head movable upon said member, said head and memberhaving cooperable tapered portions for forcing the jaws to grippingposition, and resilient means carried by one of said parts andengageable with the other for holding the head and member in positionagainst accidental displacement.

holding said head and member in position relative to one another.

6. A chuck embodying a rotatable member having normally separated springjaws, a head movable upon said member, said head and member havingcodperable tapered portions for forcing the jaws :to gripping position,and a sleeve. connected to-the headand movable upon said member, saidsleeve having resilient means engageable with said -m-ember for holdingthe head and member in position relative to one another.

7 A chuck embodying a rotatable member having normally separated springjaws, a head movable upon said member, said head and member havingcooperable tapered portions for forcing the jaws to gripping positionand a sleeve connected to the head and movable upon said member, saidsleeve having slots extending to that end remote from the head andproviding spring tongues, said tongues having means engageable with saidmember for holding the head and member in position relative to oneanother.

8. A chuck embodying a rotatable member having normally separated springjaws, a head movable upon said member, said head and member havingcooperable tapered por-.

tions for forcing the jaws to gripping position, and a memberadjustably' connected with the head, the two members havinginterengageable means for holding the head and first mentioned member inposition relative to one another.

9. A chuck embodying a rotatable member having normally separated springjaws, a head movable upon said member, said head and member havingcooperable tapered portions for forcing the jaws to gripping position,and a sleeve 'adjustably connected with the head and movable upon saidmember, said sleeve having resilient means engageable with said memberfor holding the head and member in position relative to one another.

10. A chuck embodying a rotatable mem- 1 her having normally separatedspring jaws,

a head movable upon said member, said head. and member having cooperabletapered portions for forcing the jaws to gripping position, and a sleevethreadedly connected with the head and movable upon said member, saidsleeve having slots extending to that end remote fro-m the head andproviding spring tongues, said tongues having means at their free endsengageable with said member for holding the head and member in positionrelative to one another.

11. A chuck embodying a chuck member having jaws movable toward oneanother to gripping position, a member movable relatively t0 the chuckmen'iber, means whereby the relative longitudinal movement of saidmembers moves the jaws into gripping position, and adjustable meanscarried by one of said members and engageable with the other for holdingsaid members at different relative positions when the jaws are in gripping position. 12. A chuck embodying two members movable longitudinallyrelative to each other, one having spring jaws movable toward each otherinto gripping position, said members having cooperating means for movingthe jaws to gripping position as said members are moved longitudinallyrelative to one another in one direction, and adjustable means carriedby one of said members and engageable with the other member for holdingthem in dilferent relative positions when moved longitudinally in saiddirection.

in testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GARY B. SMITH. Witnesses:

MoNRoE E. MILLER, P. AGNES RocKELLI.

Eagles oi this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, ID, CB

